Lineage
by Noa Nee
Summary: Sequel to Robin's Name. Robin and the others have caught up to Zucco, but he has trapped the Team in a giant maze! Robin and the others must rely on each other to escape. And what secrets about Robin will be revealed? Previously DeliveranceinTheLabyrinth
1. Activation

N2; YO! OMW It's finally up! SEQUEL FOR ROBIN"S NAME IS HERE! I hope you absolutely LOOOVE it! This first chapter is kindda short, but I just wanna see if people still care. A most heartfelt apology to lovinglolipop402. I am so very sorry for putting this up a week late, but last Sunday just flew right over my head! I am SOOO sorry, please forgive me! The reason I got motivated for this again is I looked on stats and saw over 3,140 hits and 910 visitors for october alone! SQUEEE! Anyway, please everyone give lovinglolipop402 and Skylark Evanson round of applause for reminding me of this story and getting me back on track. I had absolutely nothing until I read until I read Like a Jigsaw Puzzle by Skylark Evanson. I was thinking about it and boom! inspiration hits at 1 o'clock in the morning! OS this chapter is dedicated the lovinglolipop402 and Skylark Evanson. Disclaimer: I don't own JY, if I did i would honestly fear for my life! All those fans *shudder*

Legend- "Talking" /Mind Link/ _"Thoughts"_

Deliverance in the Labyrinth

Chapter 1: Activation

**12345678910**

_Touchdown in the outskirts of Gotham was smooth and uninterrupted._

_/No sign of any enemies, Aqualad. / Dick told his team's leader, /I'm going to find out what I can from the computer. /_

_/Good. / Replied the Atlantean leader, /See if you can find out where he's hiding, perhaps we can set up an ambush. /_

_/On it. / The thirteen-year-old replied and after a pause suddenly spoke, /Hey in disappear and appear are opposites. Then is escaping the opposite of caping? I mean instead of getting out of a placed you get in? / The team laughed out loud. Little did they know they were entering hell and that laugh would be their lifeline._

**12345678910**

Robin, Dick Grayson, The Boy Wonder was unsure. It was not a feeling he was not used to. Batman his savior, his mentor, his **Father, **kept him from feeling unsure. Sure, Bruce may not be perfect, after all he is only human, but he tried, he tried so hard for his adoptive son. Now, with Bruce's reassuring presence no longer beside him he was left with the feelings of uncertainty and doubt. His team knew. They knew his history with the circus, his biological parent's murder, and his adoptee status. That had thrown him for a loop when he learned of it upon waking two days ago. He had spent less than 24 hours in recovery, then immediately set out with the other Young Justice to capture his parent's murderer, Antony Zucco. For all of Young Justice's newfound knowledge about him, they still didn't know his name. Bruce had left that decision to him, and for that he was grateful to the Dark Knight, but at the same time, felt bitter at his surrogate father for making him chose between heroism and his friends. He looked over at Aqualad, who was running ahead of him to the left. Kaldur was tense, he could tell by the way his shoulders were tight and his run almost stiff. He grinned and sped up so he was running beside his leader, using their "mind link" the Me'gann had set up to communicate with the Atlantean.

/Yo, Kaldur, ease up a little. You'll give you're self a heart attack worrying so much! This mission'll be a piece of cake! / As if to illustrate his point, Robin jumped up and performed three handsprings, one after the other so he was several feet ahead of the others. He glanced over his shoulder to see Kaldur's shoulders relax and the dark-skinned Atlantean gave a small smile as he rolled his eyes. Inside the mind link, Robin cackled. _"Mission accomplished,"_ he thought. When the team was formed he had made it his mission to make the team laugh and relax, _"I swear, these people have no idea how to relax on a mission, 'cept maybe KF."_ He was glad he had paid attention to Batman's lessons on telepathy, he now knew how to shield himself from most of Megan's telepathic influence, only keeping enough open so they could communicate. Wally West sped up and started running beside him, if only just slightly ahead.

/Up for a little friendly competition, Rob? / The teen speedster asked. Robin grinned at him.

/Any time, Flash Junior. / Kid Flash paused for a second to reprimand the Boy Wonder, but realized a second to late that Rob had tricked him, he chased after his younger friend with a grin on his face. Artemis shook her head but smiled anyway; Megan gave a small grin, and the ever-zealous Superboy chased after the two. Suddenly, Conner stopped and held up a hand. Robin and Kid Flash stopped as well and headed back toward the team.

/What is it Superboy? / Aqualad asked. The clone pointed into the forest.

/I can hear circus music, /He replied, /we're here. / The team nodded and fell into formation. Kaldur spared Robin a brief glance, worried about his younger teammate. Robin seemed to feel his friend's gaze and shot him a reassuring smile.

/I won't let him get to me, Kaldur, / The Boy Wonder assured him, /Not this time. / Kaldur nodded and looked ahead, he could see the trees gradually thinning out to reveal the outline and bright yellow and red strips of Haley's Circus.

/Robin, is there a subtler means of entrance than the main doors? /Kaldur asked. Robin shook his head.

/If memory serves the main entrance is the only one, /Rob paused and grinned, /Well the only entrance, **right now**. / The Boy Wonder broke off and disappeared into the shadows. The team froze, knowing that they would not be able to follow him if he did not want to be found. Seconds later, Robin appeared next to Artemis, who jumped slightly at his sudden reappearance, and motioned for the to follow. They followed their youngest teammate to a small opening in the side of the tent, obviously freshly made.

/Won't they notice us? /Asked Artemis, /won't they have motion sensors or something? / Robin shook his head.

/ I set the motion sensors so they're on a continuous loop. Plus it's **impossible** to set something like an alarm system up on tent wall. Trust me, I've tried. / The team nodded and passed silently threw the slit in the side. Once inside they all looked around in hope of finding a clue, instead all they saw was darkness. All lights were out, and the only noise was the faint noise of circus music playing in the background.

/What is going on here? / Asked Kaldur.

/No clue, / Replied Robin, /Lemme try to get the lights back on. /

/Do you think that this is a trap? / Asked Megan, Wally turned to her and answered.

/ Most likely, Green Cheeks, / the speedster flashed her a grin as he answered, but immediately became sober again concentrating on Robin, who was tapping away at his holographic computer, /what cha' got Rob? /

/Nothing so far, / The raven haired boy said, /Just- / He was cut off at the sound of the circus music, which until that point had just been a faint noise in the back ground, but was suddenly turned up to an almost painful volume. A voice laughed as the music died down.

"Little Robin," the voice cooed, "Won't you come and play?" The team recognized the voice as that of their target, Antony Zucco. They all fell into battle stance, with Robin holding to Escrima sticks and Aqualad forming two chain-scythes as their weapons.

"Depends on the game!" Robin yelled the hatred in his voice was obvious but well contained. The voice laughed again.

"You see I've heard the Boy Wonder is some kind of genius, a **child prodigy**." Zucco's voice was laced with sarcasm and they were certain that he'd be using air quotes if they could see him, "To test that theory, I've devised a little game. I call it, Maze of Death!" The voiced laughed again.

"Maze of Death?" Artemis asked, "Cliché much." Robin nodded in agreement; he looked over the female archer and grinned,

"Seriously tonous title,"(1) He replied, Artemis grinned back at the Boy Wonder.

"Cliché!" The Zucco roared. KF turned to Artemis and scowled.

"Way to go, Arty! I think you made him mad!" He accused.

"Thanks a lot, Modo!"(2) She snapped back.

"What does "Modo" mean?" Asked Megan. Robin grinned at her and replied.

"Master of da' obvious." The others chuckled, but were abruptly silenced by a rumbling around them. The lights turned back on and they blinked to readjust to the suddenly brightness. They all looked around and gasped. All around they was were walls, 10 feet high at least and looked as though they were made of steal or some other type of metal.

"In this game," Zucco began, "You will be forced inside my maze and will have 6 hours to get out or I will blow this place sky high. It is also riddled with traps and other such nefarious devices. Oh, and don't even think of calling for help or using Superman junior. The walls are laced with Kryptonite and all communications are being blocked," A walled appeared behind them a began to force them into the labyrinth, "Well, Boy Wonder? Prove to me you are the genius I've heard you to be. You're time begins…NOW!" Suddenly bursts of fire came from every direction until a wall of fire was behind them and slowly advancing.

"Run!" Kaldur yelled, the team needed to further prodding. They took off down the long corridor until they came to an intersection.

"Which way!" Yelled Superboy. Robin looked at both for a minute they seemed to come to a decision.

"Left!" He yelled and sure enough the fire caught up and went right before extinguishing at the end of the short hall. The team looked around to see they were at another intersection, this one with three paths.

"Which one?" Asked Megan, slightly shaken from all the fire, "Robin?" The team turned to their youngest member who looked at them for a moment before shaking his head in defeat. He walked over the closest wall (the left wall) and slid down until he was sitting with his knees up and his hand stretched out over them, clasped as if in prayer. He rested his head on the wall and closed his eyes. The other just stared at him, until finally they to sat down or slumped in defeat.

"What do we do?" Asked Artemis, "We have to find a way out but how?" The other just looked around in despair.

"Hey, Rob," KF called, the raven hero looked up at his best friend, "How'd you know we needed to go left?" Robin leaned back and closed his eyes once again before he answered.

"There were no jets going left."

"What do you mean no jets?" Asked Kaldur, the other listened closer as well.

"No jets to produce flame or water, no electrical panels for generating electricity, nothing. I figured left must be right," Wally chuckled at his best fiend weak attempt at a joke before Robin continued, "Batman and I got stuck in a maze like this once. It was just a couple of months after I became Robin. I was 9 or so I think. We were in one of Joker's "palaces" and a giant maze suddenly came up from the ground. Luckily, Batman and I weren't separated and along the way out he told me how to find your way out of a maze. That was one of the few times I was genuinely scared for my life while being Robin. Everywhere we turned there was joker gas, force fields, electric floors, fire jets, water spilling out of cracks, rocks falling. It was a nightmare."

"How'd you manage to…I dunno stay sane." Asked Artemis, Robin gave a small smile.

"It's gonna sound corny and if you laugh I'll hurt you (3), but it was because Batman was there. Ever since my parents died, Batman's always been there for me, whether as Batman or as my father." The team was silent until a loud rumbling shook them to their feet.

"What's going on?" screamed Miss Martian, suddenly a large boulder rolled around the corner. Everyone cried out and began to run toward the tunnels.

"Everyone!" yelled Rob, "This way!" as he disappeared down the left tunnel. There was no hesitation as they all followed.

"It's still coming!" cried Wally; suddenly he felt his feet slip on the floor, which he realized as he was coated in a slippery substance, but it wasn't water. He turned around to see the boulder coming. There was no way he could run on this substance. The boulder rolled closer and was almost on him when…

N2: AHHH Cliffie! What's gonna happen to Wally! Well I hope you like chapter 1.

(1) Tonous and in monotonous

(2) I can't help it it's just how I talk!

(3) this line is slightly modified from Homesweethomicide13's Child Of War. Which I'm begging him to update by the way. :D Hope you like this chappie, I can't give any promises and to when the next one is coming out but I can tell you that I need motivation. PM ME, REVIEW, E-MAIL IFYOU CAN! DO SOMETHING TO MOTIVATE ME! 10 reviews=Faster updates Please! review and I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1 of Deliverance in the Labyrinth! Thanks a bunch ~Noa Nee


	2. Inferno

N2: HELLO! I AM ALIVE! I'm soooo sorry it took me so long to update and I apologize in advance for the chapter. It not bad, in fact I think it's pretty good but...oh wait and see. I blame school and Christmas and New Year for the lack of date I guess. Or you could thank Christmas becasue I was planning on updating on Christmas as a present but didn't have enough done. Plus I got hooked on Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5, call me a nerd, I don't care, I bask in nerdy-ness. ALso I AM NOW A BROWN BELT IN TAEKWONDO! THAT'S VERY CLOSE TO BLACK! **FREE PORN! **HA got your attention huh? Anywho I got motivation from _**Cirruz The Night Elf.**_ THat name should be underlined, All caps, any thing 'cause anyone who loves this story should be thanking that wonderful author. I too that _**Cirruz**_ for the wonderful PM. THank you sooo much, that made me feel motivated and very much loved. I re-started working on the second chapter that night and even took my computer to school! No real plot occurs it's probably going to be the only filler in the story. And so the rest of the note and the then the *muwahahaha* story.

Dedication: _**Cirruz The Night Elf **_for the wonderful motivation! I have a picture of the PM on my phone! No lie! In fact if you and_** Riqis Inna Sunja **_are reading this reading this, PM me and I'll, at the risk of sounding vain, let you two be in the N2 note! **If **you want to of course.

Legend

"Talking"

_"Thinking"_

_Lyrics_

/Mind Link/

Disclaimer: I in no way own or profit from the making for the Young Justice Cartoon or comic. All rights and profits belong to DC comics, Gred Wiesman, Bradon Vietti , and Cartoon Network.

Deliverance in the Labyrinth

Chapter 2: Inferno

"_It's still coming!" cried Wally; suddenly he felt his feet slip on the floor, which he realized as he was coated in a slippery substance, but it wasn't water. He turned around to see the boulder coming. There was no way he could run on this substance. The boulder rolled closer and was almost on him when…_

"Kid!" Artemis yelled, she shot a single arrow, which exploded to launch a net in the boulder's path, temporarily blocking the rock's path. She and Superboy hurried over to help the Speedster up.

"You ok?" Superboy asked as he pried the substance off of Wally's feet. Once he was free KF hopped up and grabbed the two pulling them away.

"I'm great! Now lets go before the boulder-" He was cut off by a the sound of ripping. The three turned and their eyes widened in horror as the boulder broke free of the net and continued on its way toward them. They turned around and continued running. They heard Robin's voice coming from up ahead.

"Superboy, Artemis, KF! Over here!" The three saw the other members of the team standing at another fork in the path, "Come on!" Robin yelled and the three followed the rest of the team into the left path.

"It's still coming!" Miss Martian yelled, but Robin shook his head,

"Don't worry," He said reassuringly, "We'll be alright," The rest of the group looked at him incredulously but decided to put faith in their youngest teammate. They braced themselves for the impact they all thought was coming but it never happened. The boulder rolled down the other path and they all heard the sound of it crashing against a wall. _"A dead end,"_ Thought Wally, _"What if we had gone down that way?"_ he thought ominously and gave in involuntary shiver. They all let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Is everyone alright?" Aqualad asked and they all nodded their heads. Miss Martian turned to Robin who was looking at some data on his computer.

"How did you know this way was safe?" she asked curiously, the rest of the team listened in, wanting to know how he had accomplished the efeat of not getting them killed.

"Dang, no signal," He muttered before turning to the Martian, "Huh? Oh! How'd I know this was the way? Simple, the floor sloped up going left and down going right. A boulder can't roll uphill so it made sense that left was right...again!" The others laughed but suddenly their leader collapsed, cutting their good humor short.

"Aqualad!" They all cried as they hurried over to him. Robin checked his vitals and shook his head.

"He's dehydrated," Rob explained, "With the lack of water, his gills have nothing to draw on to give his body support."

"We **need** to get him water, and soon!" Artemis urged. KF shot her a look,

"Thanks, **Modo**!" Robin's lips twitched at his friends teasing, which turned into a full-fledged grin when Artemis smack Kid upside the head.

"KF!" He called drawing his friend's attention away from his argument, "Got any water we can use?" Wally looked through his supplies for a moment before making a small noise of victory and handing The Boy Wonder a small canteen, which the youngest teen then poured over Aqualad's head. The teen leader sputtered as he came around. Aqualad's eyes opened and he made out several shapes hovering above him; he stared for a moment before his vision cleared revealing his teammate's relieved faces.

"W-What happened?" He said as he slowly sat up with Robin's assistance. Wally grinned and thumped the leader on the back.

"You passed out, man," He explained, "Dehydration. You've got Rob's quick thinking to thank that you're still with us!" Aqualad turned to face Robin.

"Thank you, Robin," He said solemnly. The Boy Wonder grinned and gave his leader a thumbs up.

"No prob!" He replied but his smile soon faded and was replaced with a look of seriousness that the team was not used to seeing, even Artemis had only seen it once and that was in the middle of the attack on the base by the reds. In the pipes when he had yelled at her to "get traught or get dead!"

"We should get out of here," The raven-haired teen said as he stood up with Kaldur, his body supporting the still weak Atlantean, "We don't know what other trap Zucco has planned for us," _"His name tastes like poison,"_ Robin noted dryly. Miss Martian, who had heard the thought as Robin hadn't put up any mental barriers, shivered at the malice in the teen hero's voice and decided she didn't want to know how he knew what poison tasted like. Superboy walked over and took Aqualad from Robin. He held the leader bridal style and nodded at Robin once he had situated his leader's weight and with that the team ran off down the hallway with the youngest leading the way. Every once and while the group would come across a fork in the path or a turn in the hall but Robin never hesitated and lead them on with a rapid pace. When they turned left down a corridor they were greeted with a four way split in the hall, with two of the passages going either left or right and two more sitting next to each other.

"Well this is just great," Wally muttered as the six of them caught their breath, "Any ideas Rob?" the Teen Speedster asked his friend who was looking at his holographic computer.

"Nothin' " The Boy Wonder said as his fingers danced across the screen. He shook his head and frowned at the thing on the screen. The team crowded around the youngest member as he explained their situation.

"Up till now the passage ways have followed a fairly predictable pattern of a straight hall with four turns the first three being tricks leading to either a dead end or a trap of some kind. The last turn on the right leads to a two way split with the right path filled with some kind of explosive and the left being the next hall. The pattern repeats once before the directions switch and what was on the right is now on the left," As Robin finished explaining the team stared at him in wonder. He shrugged at their astonished looks, "What? It's easy if you think about it."

"How do you know all this?" Artemis asked, hands on her hips, "You don't go down all that passages so how'd you figure it out?" The other members turned toward the raven-haired teen in anticipation.

"A map," he answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I used sonic frequencies to echo map the place."

"Like echolocation?" Wally asked. Robin nodded in confirmation as Megan stepped forward,

"How could we not hear it?" Miss Martian asked. Robin turned to Conner.

"Superboy can hear it. The pitch is too high for anyone who's ears are any less than super to make out," Now addressing the clone he asked, "You've heard a hyper pitch sound haven't you? It's not constant, but it almost…I dunno bounces?" Conner nodded slowly before responding,

"I thought it was an effect of the maze. You know a disadvantage or something," Robin nodded in understanding before returning to his computer.

"I've been trying to echo map the rest of the maze but it seems that something is blocking my signals. I can't…quite…get…a fix," He said, obviously preoccupied. Suddenly a loud sound pierced that relatively quiet maze. Wally, Robin, and Artemis recognized it as music.

"What is that?" Kaldur asked, his hands covering his ears, the music was rather loud. Conner's hands already covered his ears and he seemed on the verge of collapsing, the super ears Robin had mentioned weren't always an asset.

"It's Hollywood Undead," Artemis explained, "Their a band. This song is called _City_," Suddenly the lyrics became much louder and Megan shivered at the slightly disturbing lyrics. Especially to a Martian whose worst fear was fire.

_Let's watch it burn_

_Let's watch it burn_

_Let's watch this city burn the world_

_Let's watch the city burn_

_From the skylines on top of the world_

_Till there's nothing left in her_

_Let's watch this city burn the world_

"That's creepy," Wally said as he and Conner tried to comfort the distraught Martian despite their own discomfort. Miss Martian had collapsed at the mere mention of such a massive amount of fire.

_My body doused in ash with two empty cans of gas_

_The only evidence they have is a police sketch of my mask_

_And it's hard at times to ask if you can save my heart for last_

_And it's hard to face the facts when the darkness fades to black_

_It's not just make believe when they make me take a seat_

_And they put amphetamines in the air and make me breathe_

_So come on and grab your children, look out for burning buildings_

_And villains who pillage, they're killing by the millions_

_And billions of people die for a lost cause_

_So now I pray to my nation destroyed under God_

Suddenly, the team could take no more of the haunting lyrics. They began to run through the maze, Robin once again leading. His directions were a little less sure but they encounter no traps so they didn't care. All the team wanted to do was escape the song that seemed to promise death.

_It's the end of the world_

_All my battles have been won_

_But the war has just begun_

_Let's watch this city burn_

_From the skylights on top of the world_

_'Til there's nothing left of her_

_Let's watch this city burn the world_

_The city looks so pretty, do you wanna burn it with me?_

_'Til the skies bleeds ashes and the freaking skyline crashes_

_They catch us with matches to ignite the flame_

_And all the hopes of a youth deemed freaking insane_

As they ran Conner's ears picked up on the sound of roaring flame.

/Guys! / He yelled in their mind link, but the warning came to late. Flames ripped around the corner and nipped at the teams heels like hellhounds. Megan screamed and passed out. Superboy caught her with ease, never breaking his rapid pace as he caught his girlfriend. The music continued only making this seem like a scene in some kind of twisted movie.

_They say,_

_Take the pill_

_In god we trust_

_Go and kill_

_God loves us_

_As in life as in death_

_Breathing 'til there is no breath_

_I will not die in the night but in the light_

_Of the sun with the ashes of this world in my lungs_

_But who am I to say let's all just run away_

_Grab your saints and pray, we're gonna burn this world today._

They turned a corner and came to a halt.

"Dead end!" Artemis screamed panic in her voice.

_Say it's the end of the world_

_As in heaven as on earth_

_We've been dead since our birth_

_Let's watch this city burn_

_From the skylights on top of the world_

_'Til there's nothing left of her_

_Let's watch this city burn the world_

Kaldur began to feel the effect of the extreme heat and started to sway. Wally helped him keep his balance, but at that same time the inferno wall rounded the corner and traveled closer and closer to the heroes.

_Let's watch it burn_

_Let's watch it burn_

_The city looks so pretty,_

_Do you wanna burn it with me?_

_The city looks so pretty_

_Do you wanna burn it with me?_

_The city looks so pretty_

_Do you wanna burn it with me?_

_We use the trees as torches_

_Do you wanna burn it with me?_

_Fill the streets with corpses_

_Do you wanna burn it with me?_

_Watch the city fucking bleed_

_Do you wanna burn it with me?_

_Bring the world to its knees_

_Do you wanna burn it with me?_

_Let's watch this city burn_

_From the skylights on top of the world_

_'Til there's nothing left of her_

_Let's watch this city burn the world_

_Let's watch this city burn_

_From the skylights on top of the world_

_'Til there's nothing left of her_

_Let's watch this city burn the world_

Conner clutched Megan closer; Wally, Artemis, and Kaldur moved to provide each other comfort in what their last moments. The wall of flame rushed closer…

_Let's watch it burn_

_Let's watch it burn_

_Let's watch this city burn the world_

N2: I'M SORRY! I had to end it like that! Cliffhangers are so much easier to pick up from than chapters that end decently. I'M SORRY! Especially for how short it is. Taekwondo started back up as well as school so I canna promise anything but I have a good ides for the next chapter and I want to get it out there soon. Plus I have a story to write for English so I'll probably be working on that. **HELP! does anyone know of a good app for iphone that I can write on? If do please let me know.** And yes, I do listen to Hollywood Undead. I blame it on a friend/...something at school who got me into them. He's a something 'cause I'm not sure what exactly we are. I mean I HAD emphasis on had a crush on him, but now I think of him as friend but I not sure what he thinks of me soooo yeah he's a friend/ something. Sorry 'bout the rant. lol :) Stay tooned for more, hopefully a longer and less cliffhanger chapter of Deliverance in the Labyrinth! **Any one who can guess what will happen next gets cyber hugs and plushies! Maybe the disclaimer too 0_0**. Any who! I love you guys and hope to see you in the next chapter!

Thanks a bunch ~Noa Nee 


	3. Existance

N2: Between a dream I had (I'm not kidding! A friend said I should finish this in a dream, and this friend's never even read this!) and DramerKopa's NAGGING I finally finished this. Today I give you the third chapter of Lineage! I have renamed it because Deliverance in the Labyrinth was too long and cliche. But anyways! Tonight we have a **very **special guest. Here with us tonight is **Cirruz the Night Elf**! Come on out Cirruz! *Cirruz walks out from behind stage waving and sits in a big red velvety chair beside Noa*

**Cirruz**: Yo! What's up people?

**N2:** Glad your here with us tonight, Cirruz! :)

**Cirruz**: Honored to be here. I feel so lucky! :D

**N2:** Well, I'm glad you decided to join us for this chapter. :D I've never had i co-host before!

**Cirruz**: You are an amazing author...Just wish you would've updated sooner *mumbles* which is mostly my fault...

**N2:** No way! it's totally mine for being to lazy to, you know, actually finish the chapter and ask you about being here. Totally my fault. *Covers face in horror upon realizing how long it's been*

**Cirruz**: At least it's here now!

**N2:** So true. Well! Would you like to do the honors!

**Cirruz:** Noa Nee does not own Young Justice, though it would be INCREDIBLY awesome if she did. I would die of happiness. ^_^

**N2:** This chapter is dedicated to the amazing Cirruz the Night Elf, who actually took the time to talk and be here with little old (not) me, and DramerKopa, who simply wouldn't. stop. nagging. me about getting this up and about being mentioned in the author's note. Seriously though, I love you both!

**Cirruz**: Whoo! Okay...On with the chapter! Enjoy!"

Legend- "Talking" _"Thoughts"_ / Mind Link /

Lineage

Chapter 3: Existence

_Conner clutched Megan closer; Wally, Artemis, and Kaldur moved to provide each other comfort in what they thought were their last moments. The wall of flame rushed closer… _

_Let's watch it burn_

_Let's watch it burn_

_Let's watch this city burn the world_

Suddenly a torrent of water gushed out of the walls and crashed with a flame with a mighty hiss. The steam rushed toward the huddled teens and enveloped them in a curtain of fog. The steam burned at their skin and stung their eyes. The colliding of the elements continued for a few more minutes before the flame ran out and the water began to soak through the team. They glanced around to find the source of their rescue only to find Robin leaning against the wall with multiple wires from a panel in the wall connected to his glove computer and still dripping water jets sticking out of the walls. Rob was breathing heavily, but he still gave them a small smile as he sunk to the floor. Seconds later the team followed his lead and they all collapsed to the ground and a collective sigh of relief could be heard. After a moment Wally started to laugh hysterically and one by one the other's joined their ginger haired friend in their mini celebration. Kaldur's deep chuckle, Me'gann's pixie-like laughter, Conner's rough guffaw, Artemis' unrestrained hysterics, Wally's mad fits of laughter, and Robin's wild cackling echoed through out the maze as the six teen reveled in the joy of being alive. Eventually the laughter died down and the teens relaxed for a moment. Kaldur observed his teammates carefully; Miss Martian looked a little shaken and Superboy was a looked slightly weak from the kryptonite laced walls, but both only had a few burns as their injuries. Artemis had a bruise or two on her arms as well and some of her costume had been singed as well as her hair but she was okay. Kid Flash was a little burnt but all right, and Robin had no visible injuries to speak of. All of them were absolutely soaked. _"That can not be comfortable on their burns," _The teen leader noted. Aqualad himself was feeling much better after he was doused with water and most of his injuries had been healed because of it. All in all, the team was doing fairly well. Aqualad stood, getting the others attention. He stretched himself out and the faced the team.

"We need to focus on getting out of here. Robin how much time do we have left?" Robin looked down at his glove computer,

"Four hours, two minutes, seventeen seconds and counting," He stated grimly. As the information sunk in Robin stood and walked to the entrance to the room. He glanced at the area surrounding it and sent out a single frequency, but just as he had feared the signal revealed nothing. He sighed and walked back to the team.

"What do we do now?" Asked Kid Flash, worry filling his voice.

"We make a plan," Responded Aqualad, his voice full of a confidence he did not feel, "Robin, any ideas on how to map this maze?" The Boy Wonder shook his head.

"I just tried the echo location tactic again but no luck. It looks like the psycho was telling the truth. He is now somehow blocking my frequencies." The team formed a semi-circle on the ground of the room as Robin looked at his computer but sighed and sat down next to Aqualad.

"How come it was working before?" Artemis asked. Robin shrugged,

"How should I know? Maybe he forgot to turn it on?" The Team chuckled briefly before turning somber again.

"Do you have any idea of how big this place is?" Asked KF. Robin nodded,

"Roughly 1000 feet in diameter. The tent is a circle and as far as I can tell the maze encompasses the entire floor area. We're maybe 100 feet from the center."

"400 feet in, huh?" Kid Flash murmured, his brain began to work as he struggled to figure out how far they were from the exit, "Which way did we come from?" He asked Robin who shook his head,

"Nearly impossible to tell what with all the turns we've made," Wally's face fell, "but luckily I kept track," The Boy Wonder added with a smirk. He quickly tapped some buttons on his computer and paused before answering his best friend.

"We came from to our right," He said, pointing toward the room's entrance, "Northeast more specifically." Kid Flash nodded and continued to do his calculations.

"So…that means we're roughly 600 feet from the other side," The teen speedster said as soon as he was finished. Artemis sighed and buried her head in her hands.

"We can't cover that distance in…" she paused and glanced at Robin for help.

"Three hours fifty five minutes," He supplied. Artemis nodded and continued her rant,

"In less than four hours! It took us at least two just to make it this far and with all the turns and traps in here there's no way we'll make it in time!"

"That's not true!" Miss M stated stubbornly, "We'll be alright. We've got some of the smartest teenagers on planet here with us! We'll be fine!" Artemis shook her head,

"None of us have the power to break out of this **or** figure it out. We're **all** weak right now! There's no chance of surviving this psycho's maze!"

"Maybe that's not true," Superboy said quietly adding his two cents for the first time since the discussion started.

"Whadda you mean, Superboy?" Wally asked. Conner waited a moment before answering,

"Before we left for the mission Black Canary asked me to stay after training so she could talk to me…"

"_Well done, everyone," Black Canary said, "hit the showers! Except You Superboy!" the trainer called after the clone, "I wanna talk to you." Conner turned around and walked back to his mentor._

_ "Am I in trouble?" He asked hesitantly, Canary smiled and shook her head. _

_ "No Conner, you're not in trouble. I just wanted to talk to you about the last mission," Superboy winced at the mention of the previous assignment. The team had gone on a simple recon mission and, as usual, everything had gone wrong. Conner had ended up getting pretty badly banged up because he had used himself as a human shield to protect the others. Canary smiled and placed a hand on the super teen's shoulder, silently pulling him along as they walked out of the training room. _

_ "I know you want to protect you friends Conner. But you don't have to shoulder the burden of protecting everyone alone. Share it with your teammates. You watch their backs and they'll watch yours," Dinah advised as the pair walked through the corridors of the mountain._

_ "But I'm the strongest out of all of us. I'm indestructible, they're not," Conner said stubbornly. Canary sighed,_

_ "You're strong it's true," She said, "But one day you'll come across a problem you can't solve alone."_

"_What do you mean?" Superboy questioned._

"_You're not a tactician Conner. You prefer to act rather than to plan," Seeing the slightly hurt look on the clone's face Dinah paused before continuing, "But that's okay, because Robin and Kaldur __**are**__ strategists. Wally too is an excellent tactician," Canary explained, Conner looked at her incredulously at the thought of __**Wally**__ being a thinker, "When he wants to be," She added making the super teen smirk, "They balance you out, all your teammates do. The same way we in the Justice League balance out each other," Conner looked at her curiously. _

"_You guys…balance each other?" Canary nodded,_

"_Batman and Martian Manhunter's cool logic balance out Flash and Superman's more emotional responses. Green Lantern and Green Arrow's composure and compassion temper out Aquaman and Wonder Woman's imperial attitudes. We all balance each other. The calm and collected members balancing the hot heads and the hot heads keeping the rational ones in touch with the people they protect. The same way you and Me'gann keep the team honest, the way Robin and Artemis keep the team focused and discreet, and the way Aqualad and Wally keep the team in touch with their principles."_

"_But still!" Conner protested, but the blonde mentor cut him off as she placed a hand on his shoulder,_

"_Have faith in them Conner. You'll be surprised what you __**can't**__ do when you have trust in each other."_

"She told me that one day I would come across a problem I couldn't solve on my own, that I would have to rely on you guys for help. Maybe this is what she meant." The others were silent in contemplation for a moment before Aqualad spoke up,

"Superboy is right, we must pool our strengths if we are to make it out of this alive." The others nodded and they began to plan how to they would escape this cage and take down the maniac controlling it.

The team ran through the maze's intricate halls with Robin once again in the lead, Kaldur and Wally following right behind him. Superboy took up the rear with Artemis.

/Miss Martian, link us up, / Kaldur thought to Me'gann.

/Everyone online? / The green hero asked.

/Affirmative, / Aqualad responded.

/Yeah, / Superboy said replied

/Uh huh, / Artemis said

/You know it, beautiful! / Kid Flash responded enthusiastically

/Yeah, / Robin said last, he typed something in on his computer and made a right with the others following suit. Miss Martian watched the others turn and continued her phase of the plan.

/Fifteen seconds till the next turn, / Miss M communicated to Robin who mentally nodded and added the coordinates to his computer. Now he had almost ¾ of the labyrinth mapped and the team was making steady progress toward their goal. Suddenly water poured out of the walls and enveloped the team as it shoved them into a small room before it receded and left them soaked on the ground.

/That was freezing! / Artemis exclaimed as she pulled herself up, shivering as she did so. As they tried to warm themselves before continuing on Miss Martian's voice echoed in their heads

/I've located it! / She said with excitement.

/Where? /Robin said as they picked themselves up and continued on their path. Occasionally traps would spring out at the group, but Robin, now being a good six feet ahead would dodge and warn the others before continuing.

/Sending coordinates now, / Me'gann responded and Robin entered said coordinates into his computer.

/Adjusting course now, / The Boy Wonder thought, /Are you guys back there? / He mentally taunted the team.

/Please, / KF replied in the same teasing tone, /We're just sending you ahead as the expendable other. / Robin made a tsking sound and his voice feigned hurt,

/Ouch, KF, that hurt. /

/Robin, Kid, please focus, / Kaldur admonished and the team fell back into silence. As the team rounded a corner Kid Flash crashed head long into Robin, knocking the smaller boy several feet ahead into the large thing he had been staring at and onto the ground.

"Watch it Rob!" The teen speedster scolded, but what ever else he was going to say died in his throat as he turned his gaze toward the thing, which was a large mural painted on the wall that was blocking their path.

"Whoa…" Artemis gasped, "Is that- are those?" She stuttered as she looked at the mural. Robin picked himself up and nodded grimly.

"Yeah… my parents," Robin said grimly.

"Really?" Kid said in shock as he walked toward the mural. It covered the entire wall, making it at least 10 feet tall. A large, athletic man with Robin's dark hair had his arms around the waist of a petite woman with red hair and baby blue eyes, who had her arms laced around her husband's neck. Both were smiling at the viewer with content smiles. The team watched Robin as he placed a hand on the mural and gave a sad smile as he gazed at his parent's cheerful faces.

"Robin?" Aqualad said hesitantly. The Boy Wonder's face swivel to face his teammates' worried eyes, the smile still on his face,

"I'm okay, you guys. This picture's nothing new," He reassured but then sighed, "Shame we'll have to break it though."

"What!" KF exclaimed as he whirled around, "Why?"

"It is in our way, Kid," Kaldur explained.

"Besides," Robin added, "It's just a picture. One I have at home. It's not real," The smile had faded from his face, but he looked almost…at peace to Wally, who thought it odd considering they were about to demolish a picture of his dead parents.

"How to destroy it?" Artemis asked, a remark that was rather callous in Kid Flash's opinion.

"Well Superboy's not an option," Robin commented, "With the Kryptonite laced walls he won't be much stronger than we are."

"What about Aqualad?" Artemis questioned; Aqualad shook his head.

"There is not enough water for me to have the destructive force needed for something as large as this," Aqualad replied.

"Well, looks like it's up to me then," Robin said with a hint of resignation in his voice.

"Why you!" KF shouted obviously upset, the raven-haired hero reached into his utility belt and pulled something out. He held up a birdarang and shifted his hand so several more were pulled out from behind the first.

"Because I'm the only one with bombs. You guys should probably step back," He remarked as he walked over to the mural and threw the weapons at several places on the wall, one of them hit his father's fake, smiling face. Robin ran back to the around the corner where the others were and, ignoring the sympathetic eyes of his teammates, presses the detonator. BOOM! There was a loud noise and fire rushed past the team. Flames licked upward for a moment and Superboy glanced nervously at the sky. After a moment the flames passed and teen heroes slowly emerged from there hiding places. The mural had been completely blown away with only a few scatter chunks of rock to testify of its existence.

"We must move on," Aqualad said sternly. The others nodded and began to run down the passage. KF glanced back and noticed a piece of rock that hadn't completely destroyed staring back at him. The smiling face of Mary Grayson looked at him and Wally just couldn't seem to make his body turn away. He heard someone running up behind him but he continued to stare at the hunk of rubble.

"KF!" Rob called as he slowed to a stop beside his friend; Robin turned his eyes to what hid his friend so riveted, "What cha starin' at…" Rob's voice dropped off as his own eyes rested on his mother's painted face. He too looked at it for a moment before turning his eyes to Kid and grabbing onto his friend's arm.

"Come on, Kid. The others are waiting," Robin said quietly as he tugged on his friend's upper arm. Kid Flash nodded and slowly tore his eyes away from the rubble and followed the younger hero as they ran after their friends.

Kaldur looked hesitantly over at Robin as the group of five ran though the halls of Zucco's Maze. The younger hero seemed to be holding up well, but that didn't stop the leader from worrying. They turned as per Miss Martian's instructions, and since he no longer needed to lead, Robin had fell back to the middle of the group just behind Aqualad, who was at the front.

/Robin, are you certain you are all right? / The dark skinned Atlantean asked hesitantly as he spared a glance over his shoulder at the teen. The young hero shot his leader a small smile and nodded his head.

/Honestly Kaldur, I'm ok. Stopping worrying so much! / The younger teen reassured, / Besides, we need to focus on reaching the target. / Aqualad nodded and turned his head back in front of him. They turned a corner and Aqualad pulled ahead from the others by a few feet.

/Look out! / Miss Martian suddenly screamed, Kaldur pulled to a halt just before he fell into a deep, spike filled pit that had opened in front of him. He teetered for a second before stepping back to a safe distance. The rest of the team rounded the corner just as Kaldur stepped back. Robin came forward first; he saw the pit but his momentum from speeding up to keep up with his leader prevented him from stopping and he pitched forward toward the spikes. Aqualad reached forward as if attempting to catch the young hero, but the attempt was futile.

"**Robin!"**

N2: Duh duh duh! What will happen next? Who will save Robin? and with DramurKopa stopping nagging? XD Well I thought that part was funny. THis chapter has actual plot, something of which I am very proud of as well as some mystery. **FREE PORN! **Got your attention? Good well I am officially starting a challenge for all fans of this story! I call it Where's Megan? As you probably noticed there was a noticably lack to the green martian in this chapter. That, my friends, is done on purpose. The Where's Megan challenge will be to see who can figure out where Megan is first! I don't know if ther'll be a prize, but it'll most likely be being a co-host on the next chapter. No hints will be given to _**ANYONE**_! *finds **DramurKopa** in the audience and stares directly at her* I hope everyone decided to participate! Another annoucement is that I will be temporarily be holding this story, not for too long though, in favor of editing Robin's Name, now renamed Titles. Now lets give a BIG round of applause to our current co-host Cirruz the Night Elf! Bye! *Cirruz walks off stage waving* Hope to see you all next time in a brand new chapter of Lineage. Please REVIEW! Till next time, N2 thanks you! Good Night.


	4. Notice

_**Notice**_

Hi guys! I have some bad news. It seems I've lost my muse for this story. I started this story, both these stories really, with no idea where they were going. I had no plot written down and no real writing experience. I love you guys and think you deserve more than a half baked story with no feasible end in sight. I plan on putting this story on hiatus and editing both it and it's predecessor, Titles (whose title will be changed again by the way). This will be a huge project that will take time to do so no updates on Lineage for a while. My beta reader Jake Fearless Leader and Dramur Kopa will be helping me edit both Titles and Lineage (that is if she wants to). Titles will be getting updates, just add an extra paragraph but very little information will be added or changed. So I highly recommend you check that out. Lineage won't be change much at all but please stick around to see where it will go. I AM NOT ABANDONING THIS STORY. It will be continued and finished in due time. I'm so very sorry to all of you who were looking forward to another update. And I give a huge thanks to all of you who have given me your support an took the time to read this story. If you have ideas for where this story should go you are more than welcome to PM me or leave a review. I am also open for more beta readers. I hope a can be forgiven for dropping off like this but all of you deserve a better story than what your getting now. When I come back both stories will be even better! Love you all and thanks a bunch!

~ Noa Nee


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